This invention relates to a stylus for use with a digitizer tablet or like apparatus, and in particular such a stylus provided with a control for generating what is known as a Z-axis signal.
In my prior co-pending application, Ser. No. 07/436,196, whose contents are hereby incorporated by reference, I describe and claim a stylus having an analog side switch, operable by the user, to provide an output signal which continuously varies over a given range in response to user-applied pressure or force. As is well known, a stylus in cooperation with a conventional digitizer tablet generates signals representing X-Y coordinate pairs of the location of the stylus with respect to the tablet working surface. It was also known to provide a pressure-responsive transducer, inside the stylus housing, coupled to the stylus tip. The user, by controlling the longitudinal pressure on the stylus tip by pressing on the tablet, could also cause the outputting of a signal, often referred to as a Z-axis signal to distinguish it from the X-Y coordinate pair signals, which signal, depending upon the tablet electronics and software, could be interpreted as, for example, the width or color or other attribute of a line, or as the dimension of a screen object in the Z-direction. My prior application describes use of a finger-actuated stylus side control coupled to a Hall-effect transducer for controlling the magnitude of the Z-axis signal.